Participants:
Series Code: TDYFW
Program Code: TDYFW015002A
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00:01 I want to spend my life
00:07 Mending broken people 00:12 I want to spend my life 00:18 Removing pain 00:23 Lord, let my words 00:29 Heal a heart that hurts 00:34 I want to spend my life 00:40 Mending broken people 00:45 I want to spend my life 00:51 Mending broken people 01:07 Hello, friends and welcome to 3ABN 01:09 and this is Family Worship. 01:13 My name is John Lomacang, Pastor John Lomacang, 01:16 whatever you want to call me. 01:17 I won't be able to hear you anyhow. 01:19 However, if the Sabbath is beginning where you are 01:22 or if the Sabbath is ending where you are, 01:24 we want to enjoy our time together in family worship. 01:28 You know, spending time with the Lord 01:31 is probably the most important thing you can do. 01:35 But the Sabbath is an accelerated blessing 01:38 because it's a canopy of time that God blesses 01:41 and he awaits that invitation to come into our hearts 01:44 as Revelation 3: 20. 01:45 "He stands at the door and knocks." 01:47 He says turn off your television, 01:49 turn off your radio, put down the news paper, 01:51 get rid of your homework, put the letters away, 01:54 take a deep breath and bring the Sabbath 01:56 in as I wait to spend this Holy time with you. 01:58 Now we have some wonderful people today. 02:00 My wife is here. 02:01 Angela, good to have you here, honey. 02:03 I am glad to be here. 02:04 And Valera Babb, one of our church members. 02:06 Hi. 02:07 And we have Lori Hodge. 02:09 Good to have you here, Lori. Hi. 02:10 And we have Denielle and she is also a Babb. 02:14 Yeah, yup. 02:15 By the way, in our church I say, 02:17 you know, this is not a Babb family, 02:19 they are very good family. 02:20 And we have on the piano who is going to be joining us 02:22 in just a few moments, Jill Morikone. 02:25 Good to have you over there, Jill. 02:27 We're gonna sing some songs together. 02:29 We're gonna read some stories in the Bible. 02:31 We're going to have some testimonies 02:33 and I tell you what, 02:35 if you've never had family worship before 02:36 we hope that this infuses you to say, 02:39 I have been really missing something 02:41 that God has waited for me to enjoy. 02:43 So we're gonna sing a song. 02:45 Since it is about blessing the Sabbath, 02:47 what about "Take Time to be Holy?" 02:49 If you have hymnal, turn to 500 02:51 and you can sing with us that song, 02:53 "Take Time to be Holy." 02:58 Take time to be holy 03:02 Speak oft with thy Lord 03:07 Abide in Him always 03:12 And feed on His Word 03:16 Make friends of God's children 03:20 Help those who are weak 03:25 Forgetting in nothing 03:30 His blessing to seek 03:33 Once again. 03:35 Take time to be holy 03:39 The world rushes on 03:44 Spend much time in secret 03:48 With Jesus alone 03:53 By looking to Jesus 03:58 Like Him thou shalt be 04:02 Thy friends in thyconduct 04:07 His likeness shall see 04:10 The last stanza. 04:12 Take time to be holy 04:16 Be calm in thy soul 04:21 Each thought and each motive 04:26 Beneath His control 04:30 Thus led by His Spirit 04:35 To fountains of love 04:39 Thou soon shalt be fitted 04:44 For service above 04:50 Isn't that a wonderful song? 04:52 Amen,amen. I love that song. 04:53 It's about the Holy time that God gives to us every week 04:56 when the sun is setting. 04:58 Somewhere in the world the sun always sets. 05:01 And when that sun is going down, 05:03 the Lord is saying, 05:04 I hope you're gonna take time to be Holy, 05:07 not that we are not Holy everyday but-- 05:09 It also reminds you that if it's a Sabbath ending, 05:12 it means another closer to another Sabbath. 05:15 That's right. That's a very good thought. 05:17 You know, when the Sabbath is ending, 05:19 that means got to get ready for the one that's coming. 05:22 And how wonderful it is that 05:23 one day we're gonna be able to enjoy Sabbath 05:25 and that blessed rest in the presence of our Lord 05:28 throughout eternity. 05:30 You know, when I was being raised in New York City, 05:32 there Momma Haynes and you've heard my stories 05:35 about being raised in Brooklyn, Momma Haynes, with my sister 05:38 and I down, we lived in Brooklyn. 05:40 Now this is important. 05:41 We lived on the East Coast 05:43 but we would always sing the song, 05:44 "Day is Dying in the West." 05:47 We were in the East singing, "Day is Dying in the West." 05:50 Because it was dying in the West. 05:52 Well, that's true. We got to put that in context. 05:54 It is to be born again. 05:55 Three hours later, it'll be dark in the West. 05:57 Then it was going down where I love 06:00 'cause I was raised on the West Coast. 06:01 In the West Coast, that's right. 06:03 So he died in the East, 06:04 he was on his way to Valera in the West. 06:06 And here we are in the Mid West, 06:08 caught between the East and the West. 06:10 And then there is a mountain and so on and so forth. 06:13 But this is a wonderful hymn because it reminds us, Valera, 06:16 that, when the sun is going down, 06:19 the Holy hour that God sanctified from creation 06:22 is just about to light his flame. 06:24 Let's sing that song and reminisce about 06:26 how wonderful it was when we have been raised. 06:33 Day is dying in the West 06:39 Heaven is touching earth with rest 06:44 Wait and worship while the night 06:49 Sets the evening lamps alight 06:55 Through all the sky 06:59 Let's sing that chorus, Holy. 07:01 Holy, holy, holy 07:07 Lord God of Hosts 07:12 Heaven and earth are full of thee 07:18 Heaven and earth are praising thee 07:24 O Lord most high 07:29 Let's look at the last stanza. When forever. 07:32 When forever from our sight 07:38 Pass the stars, the day, the night 07:44 Lord of angels, on our eyes 07:49 Let eternal morning rise 07:55 And shadows end 08:00 Let's sing that, are you ready? 08:02 Holy, holy, holy 08:07 Lord God of Hosts 08:13 Heaven and earth are full of thee 08:19 Heaven and earth are praising thee 08:25 O Lord most high 08:32 Amen, I remember that singing that growing up. 08:34 You too, Valera? Oh, yeah. 08:36 We'd sit at our-- in living room. 08:38 Our living room window faced west. 08:40 And so we'd sit there we watched the sun go down. 08:43 Oh, precious memories, huh. 08:45 You had the most legitimate reason to sing that. 08:49 Yeah, we were watching that go down. 08:51 You were living in the West. 08:52 And I was talking to Denielle and Lori earlier. 08:55 I said you could share a story about when you were growing up 08:57 and they are still growing up. 08:59 But it's wonderful. 09:00 That takes me back like 09:02 I could see myself sitting there in the kitchen, 09:04 15 Madison Street, Brooklyn and the sun peeking its way 09:08 through the buildings that were behind us. 09:10 Just the sliver of the sun 09:12 and, you know, it goes down behind the buildings 09:14 before it goes over the horizon. 09:17 When I'm in Brooklyn, right behind our building, 09:19 were tons of buildings. 09:21 Exactly, so it was setting nonetheless 09:23 and Momma sat there and there I was 09:25 and the house was permeated with the smell of baked bread. 09:30 Ooh, that smells good. 09:31 Can you smell it already? Yeah, I can smell it already. 09:33 You know, baked bread. We baked bread today, so. 09:35 Huh? 09:36 We baked bread today so I can still smell it. 09:38 Look at that, you should've brought some bread with us 09:39 so we could share with our friends. 09:40 Maybe later. Maybe later. 09:42 But that was how it was and but also 09:45 what we were reminded of was now 09:48 Jesus was in the family. 09:50 Remember that song? 09:51 If Jesus in the family, what kind of home is it? 09:53 A happy home. 09:55 Okay, this is not an hymnal 09:56 but those of you younger, older, 09:58 if you know the song, you could sing along with us. 10:00 And I think we'll start with, that with Jesus 10:02 and then with Daddy in the family, 10:03 then Mommy in the family, then we'll call your names too. 10:07 Just have fun, all right. Okay. 10:09 With Jesus in the family 10:12 Happy, happy home Happy, happy home 10:17 Happy, happy home 10:19 With Jesus in the family, happy, happy home 10:24 Happy, happy home 10:27 With Daddy. 10:29 With Daddy in the family, happy, happy home 10:34 It's a happy, happy home It's happy, happy home 10:39 With Daddy in the family, happy, happy home 10:44 Happy, happy home 10:46 What else do we have besides Daddy? 10:47 Mommy. Okay. 10:49 With Mommy in the family, happy, happy home 10:54 Yes, happy, happy home 10:56 It's a happy, happy home 10:59 With Mommy in the family, happy, happy home 11:04 Happy, happy home 11:06 Let's take Lori in the family. 11:08 Lori, all right. 11:09 With Lori in the family, happy, happy home 11:14 It's a happy, happy home Yes, happy, happy home 11:19 With Lori in the family, happy, happy home 11:24 It's a happy, happy home 11:26 One more now for Denielle. Denielle. 11:29 With Denielle in the family, happy, happy home 11:34 It's a happy, happy home Yes, a happy, happy home 11:39 With Denielle in the family, happy, happy home 11:43 Together. Happy, happy home 11:50 We should do you, Pastor. 11:51 Wow, yeah, they should sing 11:53 with Pastor in the family but that's-- 11:54 Let's do it. Let's do it. 11:56 And you too. Okay. 11:57 Just Pastor. And you. 11:59 With Pastor in the family, happy, happy home 12:03 It's a happy, happy home It's a happy, happy home 12:08 With Pastor in the family, happy, happy home 12:13 It's a happy, happy home 12:19 Wow, with my honey in the family 12:21 and your children in the family 12:23 and all those who are gathering together 12:25 around the families circle, you know, just if it's cool 12:29 where you are, snuggle up, 12:31 if it's warm where you are, create some space. 12:34 Turn the air conditioning on. 12:35 Whatever the condition of the home may be, 12:37 it's always wonderful and cozy when Jesus is in the family. 12:42 You know, we think about the Sabbath 12:44 and we've grown up in so many different places. 12:47 Valera was raised in the West. Where exactly in the West? 12:51 Gaston, Oregon. Gaston, Oregon. 12:53 Tell us about what it was like, 12:54 you know, your Sabbath experience, 12:56 being raised in family, 12:58 sun is going down legitimately in the West. 13:00 Tell us what it was like, that personal touch 13:02 with the Sabbath in your home. 13:04 Well, you know, Friday, of course was the day 13:06 we prepared for the Sabbath. 13:08 And so that was always, 13:09 we never planned anything to happen on Sabbath 13:11 except that was the day that you got everything ready, 13:14 cleaned the house, got everything ready. 13:15 I could remember 13:17 our house always smell like Pine-Sol on Friday. 13:20 And you know, not long ago, I was walking, I don't know, 13:23 it's a hotel or something but obviously they just cleaned 13:24 and they'd used Pine-Sol. 13:26 And I came walking down, 13:27 it's like ooh, it smells like Sabbath is coming. 13:30 And then half hour before the sun went down, 13:33 My Mom religiously said, 13:35 "Okay, guys, it's time for worship." 13:37 And we gather in the living room 13:38 and we do like we did tonight, 13:41 you know, today we gathered around the piano 13:44 as kids got older and learned to play the piano. 13:46 We plunked out the songs and sing songs. 13:51 Before that we had some songs on those discs. 13:58 Oh. What do they call? 14:00 They call them view finders now or-- 14:01 Yeah, like Ducane machine. 14:03 Anyway, and we project those sometimes on the wall 14:06 and we'd sing with those. 14:08 I have no idea where they came from 14:09 but I can, even now when I hear certain hymns, 14:12 I can picture the pictures that we sang with those things 14:16 on Friday afternoon and then we, you know, do 14:19 on Friday evening and then we do a little worship. 14:22 And then often times in the winter 14:25 when we had a long Friday evening, 14:27 Mom would read to us and we just all us kids, 14:30 where there were five of us in my family 14:32 and we flopped down 14:33 on the living room floor colour whatever 14:35 and she would read to us until bed time. 14:38 And it was just a really a very special time 14:41 to welcoming the Sabbath and just, you know, gather 14:45 and kind of forget about the rush of the week 14:49 and everything and just kind of relax 14:51 and welcoming the Sabbath in a just a very relaxing way. 14:57 Wow, I could see you reminiscing 14:59 as you are telling the story. 15:00 I'm looking the eyes and seeing you go back 15:02 and the pitch is becoming more, real more riveting. 15:04 Singing with Mommy and the family 15:07 was really, I was amazed up. 15:09 I had to stop singing on that one 15:10 because just about one year ago I lost my mother. 15:15 And I didn't realize how much that would affect me 15:17 but thinking about Sabbath and the special times together. 15:22 Wow, and that's what, you know, 15:23 that's what those times do. 15:25 As you can see those times remind us 15:27 not just of a song, not just of a day 15:30 but really it is a time for family. 15:32 Well, that's okay because I think about it too. 15:35 My Momma is gone and try sometimes 15:38 not to even tiptoe too deeply into the story. 15:41 'Cause I get caught into the emotion of the moment. 15:44 Of course, it's so fresh. 15:45 So fresh because you just lost your Mom. 15:47 And my wife, this was important because-- 15:49 Tell us about your family worship. 15:51 You came from a pretty big family. 15:52 I mean, you had like a-- you were the youngest of eight. 15:56 Oh, family worship in my house was absolutely wonderful. 16:00 We would come home, come from home from school 16:04 and when we got home from school, 16:06 we would start cleaning. 16:07 Pine-Sol, was also one of the things 16:10 we used in our family, Pine-Sol. 16:13 It's not a commercial for Pine-Sol. 16:14 Oh, no. But it so happened-- 16:16 It's that smell of pine. 16:17 Really, when Valera said, I'm like, "she did too." 16:20 We used Pine-Sol in our houses. 16:23 We wash the dishes 16:24 and we had to get press our clothes, 16:26 get our clothes ready for church. 16:28 We hung our clothes up. 16:30 Matter of fact, I called my sister, I said, 16:32 "Give me some more memories about family worship." 16:35 And she was reminding me also, so "Remember, Angie, 16:37 we used to hang our clothes up, right outside our closet?" 16:40 "Oh, yeah, we used to that." 16:41 Hang up our clothes and then cook. 16:43 We'd help Mom cook food. Get the food ready. 16:47 Cut up the onions and whatever 16:48 and all the house used to smell so good. 16:51 And then we played Jim Reeves. 16:56 Wow. 16:58 Some of you don't know who Jim Reeves is, 17:00 but we used to play Jim Reeves' music. 17:01 Wow. 17:03 And it took us, took me way back 17:05 and also we used go play old Heritage Singers', songs. 17:08 That's right, I could hear it now and "I'm Willing Lord." 17:10 "I'm Willing Lord," that's right. 17:12 And so we used to play that. 17:14 Play the music in the house, 17:16 you just hear the music all throughout the house. 17:18 And then my Mom says, 17:20 "Come on, everybody, it's time for worship." 17:22 And we'd all run into living room, 17:24 sit on the floor. 17:26 And keep in mind, some of you may not know this 17:29 but my father died when I was just three old 17:32 and all eight of us he left behind, 17:35 one mother, one father. 17:36 And so my Mom became the head of the family 17:40 and she continued that worship. 17:42 'Cause my dad used to have worship very faithfully 17:45 and she continued that worship 17:48 and so we had worship in our home 17:50 and we'd sing songs like we did today. 17:53 We sing songs and that was so special. 17:55 And "Day is Dying in the West was one of our songs. 17:58 We got to sing also. It was one of our favorite. 18:01 And so we would sing that at the opening of the Sabbath 18:03 and close of the Sabbath 18:04 on Sabbath evening, Saturday evening. 18:07 And so it was special. 18:09 We'd read scripture. My mom had us read scripture. 18:12 We'd have-- 18:13 We'd read our Sabbath school lesson 18:15 and it was always young people, 18:17 whoever was coming to our house, 18:20 cousins or friends, they'd stay for worship. 18:23 If they didn't want to stay, then that's fine. 18:25 They could leave but they came over, 18:27 "come on in for worship." 18:28 Even the strangers in your case. 18:30 Yeah, everybody. 18:32 Yeah, we had a quite many Sabbaths. 18:35 We had a full house. 18:36 And during the time when we cooked, 18:39 my mom always made extra food 18:42 because we would always have company on Sabbath. 18:46 So we always had extra food just in case, 18:49 somebody comes in or a cousin or one of my brothers' 18:52 or sisters' friends came in for Sabbath. 18:55 And eventually I started to be added to the crowd. 18:57 And then, yeah, 18:58 and then he started coming in for Sabbath worship. 19:01 The 16 years old. Yeah, yeah. 19:03 And so that was a tiny bit of what Sabbath worship 19:06 was for my family and it was very special. 19:08 I hold it dear in my heart to this day. 19:11 And so we continued that tradition in my home, 19:14 our home with family worship. 19:16 That's right, whenever anybody's in our house, 19:18 Sabbath comes, we would all-- 19:20 Adventist or not. 19:21 Adventist or not, even the stranger 19:23 that is within your gates 19:24 because, you know, Jill, the Lord is the Lord of all. 19:28 He wants everyone. 19:29 All of His created beings to worship Him. 19:31 And so that time when He comes in, 19:33 like my wife and I, we have worship together sometimes. 19:35 Sometimes we'd really read along 19:37 but on Friday evenings I'm kind of tying up my sermon 19:39 so it's like really short. And she-- 19:41 And then she goes to reading other materials 19:44 to input in my sermon and it gets all fired up 19:46 and so the sermon gets preached on Friday night 19:48 and on Sabbath morning. 19:50 But, Jill, you have a devotional thought for us 19:51 but begin by telling us 19:53 what family worship was like in your family. 19:55 You know, I'm just listening to Valera sharing, 19:57 to Angie sharing, to you, Pastor 19:59 and it's just incredible to me 20:00 because the tradition, we could say 20:02 these are traditions that we have in our homes 20:04 but the symbolism of it and the holiness of it 20:08 and how it brings family that much closer, 20:11 that much more real and God, to me 20:14 that's the whole point of worship having together, 20:16 is drawing closer the family or the strangers in your gates 20:19 as brothers and sisters in Jesus. 20:22 But in addition to that, it's drawing closer to God. 20:25 So it was just my sister and I 20:27 when we grew up and my Mom and Dad 20:30 and we would always take our baths Friday afternoon. 20:33 I remember scrubbing the house 20:34 but I don't remember the Pine-Sol. 20:36 But I do remember scrubbing, I remember scrubbing the house, 20:40 I remember doing the cooking and all of that. 20:42 We'd have our, and all that stuff. 20:45 And then we always had a special meal Friday night. 20:48 And for us it seems like breakfast food 20:50 but we always had pancakes. 20:52 And so every Friday night, my Dad can't do onions 20:56 and peppers and garlic and all that stuff 20:58 but he really like pancakes. 21:00 So every Friday night we would get the same candles out. 21:04 They were our special Sabbath candles. 21:07 My Mom would whip up the pancakes, 21:08 my sister and I would sit down at the table with them. 21:11 We always ate together. 21:13 We always talked together and then we would put on 21:17 the records, the Heritage Singers. 21:19 We always listen to the Heritage Singers' record. 21:22 And then after that, 21:23 the best part of the whole evening to me 21:26 was the time that my sister and I got to teach. 21:30 And as I look back on that now I think about 21:33 how like to teach Sabbath school 21:34 or how I like to share the word of God. 21:36 And I think that was planted 21:38 when I was a little girl back growing up. 21:42 And so every night, my Mom and Dad would sit, 21:44 they would be the audience and we would teach. 21:49 And so we would give the lesson 21:50 that the Sabbath school teacher was gonna give 21:52 and I started this at four years old. 21:54 And I would get up, 21:55 I had the felts and I would teach. 21:57 "And this is what's happening with Jesus 21:59 and here's a story and here's the scripture." 22:01 And we always had to give our memory verse. 22:03 And to me that was the most precious time. 22:06 Our family worship was getting me personally, 22:09 getting to share the word of God. 22:11 Well, and you have a devotional thought for us too 22:13 but I'm gonna first go to Denielle 22:15 because Denielle, I want to tell you, 22:18 we've been here at our church 22:19 for more than 10 years, like my 12 years. 22:23 The time is getting away from me 22:25 but I remember Denielle, 22:27 you don't have to tell anybody your age 22:29 because that's the best kept secret 22:30 I don't want to blow off for you. 22:32 But Denielle is a teenager now. 22:33 But I remember when Denielle, 22:35 I remember meeting with Babbs years ago 22:36 and she was young and had this little squeaky 22:38 little young voice and I would say, 22:41 "Hope you guys record this voice 22:43 so when she graduates 22:44 from high school you could play it." 22:46 'Cause it was cute but-- And never-- 22:48 Didn't like shoes, right, Valera? 22:50 Didn't like shoes, she would be tumble saucing. 22:52 Cart wheels in the church. 22:54 I remember cart wheels going up the front isle 22:57 while Pastor is preaching. 22:58 Exactly, just as energetic as-- 23:00 Much to the sugar in her parents. 23:01 Huh. 23:04 Not the one thing you want as a parent, 23:05 you want to see your child doing. 23:07 Exactly. 23:08 And always out going but now I've seen 23:11 Denielle grow up to be such a spiritual young lady. 23:15 I've seen her sometimes gathering circles-- 23:16 Go ahead, you want to say something. 23:18 Yeah, do you remember when she was little, Denielle, 23:20 she would always witness to people that come to church. 23:23 She would draw pictures and write a scripture for them 23:27 and give it to them. 23:28 And I've seen big men cry 23:31 just from what Denielle gave them to encourage them. 23:34 The scripture they needed at the right moment. 23:36 So, Denielle, you have been a blessing. 23:38 She is been a missionary for a long time. 23:39 It's a ministry. 23:41 You want to say something, Jill? 23:42 Just gonna say it's a ministry, 23:44 you know, it's a ministry of reaching out 23:45 and caring for other people. 23:47 And the gift of music. And she's still doing that. 23:49 And she's a little poet, a writer. 23:51 Right, and you know, when we asked her 23:53 do the program, I want to put this all together. 23:54 When we asked her to do the program, 23:56 to be a part of our family worship, 23:58 the spiritual, wheels began to turn 24:00 and Denielle cranked-out a poem just for this program 24:04 that you are gonna hear for the first time. 24:05 I haven't even heard it yet. 24:07 But tell us this poem and then share it with us. 24:11 Well, I knew what I was going for when I started writing it. 24:18 But it took a while to get it finished 24:21 'cause I was trying to look up homonyms and different, 24:26 trying to get a drive and so it's not always easy. 24:29 Sometimes it comes out really easy, 24:31 other times it's like, 24:34 "I need this, what is it?" 24:40 So but I always have to keep reminding myself 24:44 that I don't actually write these, 24:47 that God writes them. 24:48 I'm just a messenger. Wow, praise the Lord. 24:51 And I have to remind myself with that, 24:53 with everything that is written, 24:57 that it's not me, it's God and I'm just a messenger. 25:00 Wow. 25:02 So the poem is called The Sabbath. 25:05 The Sabbath is a day of rest 25:07 Set apart for it is blessed 25:10 A day to worship our Creator and King 25:13 And to put aside every earthly thing 25:16 The Sabbath is a gift to all Man and creature, big and small 25:21 No work, no worries, no burdens to bear 25:24 Give them to Jesus and leave them there 25:26 Amen. Wow. Amen. 25:29 That is so-- 25:31 you got to hear it with all of us for the first time. 25:34 Thank you, Denielle. And I like what she said. 25:36 She said, this is not, I mean, I'm just a messenger. 25:39 And she is, she is. She is the burning bush. 25:42 Oh. 25:44 Oh, that's good. That's powerful. 25:45 Everybody took something away from that sermon. 25:48 That's true, tell me, do you remember that sermon? 25:50 Yes, I do. 25:51 Actually, used it on my Mom telling her, 25:53 "Mom, you're not," 25:55 whatever she imagined, "you're bush." 25:56 She's like, "What do you mean?" 25:58 'Cause you had done a sermon on Moses 26:01 and the burning bush and said, you know, 26:02 we're not, we're all bushes, you know, 26:04 it's up to God to light us and let Him use us. 26:09 Wow, let His glory be seen through us. 26:10 The young people are listening to your sermons, honey. 26:12 Isn't it wonderful? 26:14 That's exciting because I had, 26:15 I cannot tell you how many people 26:17 after that sermon said, "Good to meet you, bush." 26:20 Then I said it, I mean, George Bush 26:21 was ahead of all of us. 26:23 But truly, that's what the Sabbath is. 26:26 It allows us to remind ourselves that hey, 26:29 any light, any poems, any songs, any ministry, 26:32 is because the Lord looks at this little frail bush, 26:35 fruitless bush and ignites our flames. 26:38 Amen. 26:39 And I thought you had a thought on you. 26:41 I'm just listening to what you are saying. 26:43 And it really makes a difference, Lori. 26:44 Like, I want to go back a little bit. 26:47 When Jill was talking about like Sabbath candles, 26:50 I remember it wasn't exactly Sabbath candle 26:52 but it was a Sabbath candle-- 26:56 Abra. 26:58 Yeah, something like that and you put the candles inside 26:59 and it was so beautiful and we'd always have, 27:03 we'd always light it. 27:06 If we couldn't find the candle, if we even we had to go 27:08 and buy one and put it in there, you know. 27:09 And we always have it lighting for Sabbath, morning, 27:13 or no, Sabbath evening and Friday evening. 27:15 And we'd have it lit and we do our worship 27:17 and leave that candle burning 27:19 and then when we go to bed we'll blow it out. 27:21 And it was very special to me and then we recently gave it 27:27 to someone for a Christmas gift 27:28 'cause it was really special to us-- 27:30 and they were special to us too. 27:32 So we gave them something special to let them know 27:35 that they are special to us. 27:36 And it was amazing. 27:37 Passing along the flame and the Sabbath flame, 27:40 to be more specific. 27:41 But you had a story 'cause you're talking about 27:43 what happened once you were driving 27:44 on to church on a Sabbath. 27:46 Yes. That was very interesting. 27:47 Tell us how the Lord delivers even the Sabbath is the day 27:49 not only of worship but a day of delivery. 27:51 Talk about that. It was a Sabbath evening. 27:54 And there was a Revelation seminar I think. 27:57 Yeah, it was a Revelation seminar 27:59 and we were on our way. 28:00 We were about to pull into the church parking lot 28:02 and we are slowing down and these huge headlights 28:06 are just like bearing down and we didn't know, 28:09 like my mom just screamed, "Jesus, save us." 28:11 And like I just looked. 28:13 I didn't really know what was going on. 28:15 So I kind of turned and there was like 28:16 this huge truck that went past us. 28:18 He kind of dissert him, miss us 28:21 and my Mom pulled in and pulled into parking lot 28:24 and just sat there like, "God, thank you." 28:27 You know, she's all like praying 28:28 and thanking God and I was like Mom, what, 28:32 I had no idea what had just happened. 28:33 I was like, "what?" 28:35 And then she had to repeat it all to me 28:37 and it was like, wow, it actually, 28:39 you know, 'cause I didn't really realize 28:41 what all was going on. 28:43 And-- but it was this huge, 28:46 I guess it was a Dodge Ram truck. 28:47 You know how big they are. 28:48 Dodge Ram truck. It was something. 28:51 You know, it was just going past 28:53 and if it had hit us, 28:56 it would have, we've probably would have died 28:59 and probably would have tore out the huge block. 29:03 It was like all these brick block things for the sign 29:07 and then the sun was in the middle. 29:09 And if our car would've hit that, 29:11 which would have made it, 29:13 you know all toward the building of the church 29:15 and there would have been damage 29:16 with people inside, you know, and it was amazing. 29:19 And so we were, 29:20 we told some people, they are like, 29:22 my mom was kind of in like just recovering from it. 29:25 When she went in it was like, "What happened?" 29:26 We told them and another thing, 29:29 I guess something too 29:31 is the Pastor's sermon that night. 29:33 Because I would just like 29:35 I had a close call, I thought that was wow, 29:36 you know, I was really actually paying attention. 29:38 You know, normally I'm a kid, I'm just like taking note, 29:41 you know, but this time I was actually like in tune, 29:44 like more than usual. 29:45 The Lord got your attention. 29:47 Yes, I was like, wow, you know. And he-- 29:51 Well, it was neat 29:52 but every single time it was like this thin light. 29:55 But every time he said a verse it would get brighter. 29:57 And it was like that thick around him, around everything. 30:00 And it would get brighter every single time 30:02 and I was like, "Did you see that?" 30:04 I'm talking to friend of ours, like "Did you see that?" 30:06 And like, "What? 30:07 Apparently no one else could see it. 30:09 Even my mom was like, "I don't see anything." 30:11 I was like, "But it's right there, 30:12 it was this tiny light 30:14 and when he says a verse it gets brighter." 30:15 You know, it's like, wow. 30:17 And I guess I had it was like, 30:19 that was special night to me. 30:21 It was very special. Lord communicated to you. 30:23 I saw you, Jill, you had a thought that was gonna-- 30:24 I was just gonna say, Lori, to me it's a beautiful thing, 30:27 God spared your life. 30:28 And God spared your life for a purpose. 30:31 You are a young woman, that I think of Jeremiah 29. 30:34 God says, "I know the plans I have for you, 30:37 plans to prosper you and not harm you, 30:39 plans to give you a future and a hope." 30:41 And for both, you Lori and Denielle, 30:42 and for you at home, you may be young 30:45 and saying, "I don't even know. 30:46 My life is just beginning. 30:47 I don't know what's going on with my life." 30:49 But God has a plan for your life. 30:53 And that's a beautiful thing. God spared you for a purpose. 30:55 And that something I often wondered. 30:57 I wondered like, you know, why am I here, 30:59 when it was like rough day or something. 31:01 And then I either think of that verse 31:03 or you know, I think about the past thing that's happened 31:06 and He was like protecting me. 31:07 It's like, you know there has to be something. 31:09 I better hang in there, 31:10 you know, better to see what's going on. 31:12 That's right, hang in there. 31:13 Jill, you had a thought for us to share with us today. 31:15 To with our audience, a devotional thought. 31:17 I did, absolutely. 31:19 This, I'm gonna start with a short story 31:20 and this I'll tie into the Sabbath. 31:23 I know you were talking about 31:24 the Sabbath being a day of deliverance, you know. 31:26 The Lord saved you. 31:28 The Sabbath is also a day of healing. 31:30 That's right. 31:31 We go with a women. Valera goes as well. 31:34 We go on Monday nights to the local jail 31:37 and we rotate through and we meet 31:39 and do Bible studies with the women in the jail. 31:41 And this one night I was asking the women, 31:44 if someone else were to describe you, 31:47 how would they describe you? 31:48 What would they say 31:50 if someone else were to describe you? 31:51 And if I would ask each one here, 31:53 we could all say something about each other. 31:55 But they went around the room and they described. 31:58 What they thought someone else would say about them. 32:00 And the words were, mouthy, loud, quiet. 32:05 Those are two opposites 32:06 but they were opposite personalities. 32:08 Loud, quiet, pretty, boisterous, happy, 32:15 kind of life at the party, all of those type of words. 32:19 And then they were having a good time 32:20 and laughing and talking 32:22 and then I said, let's go around again. 32:24 And this time, I want you to say 32:26 how you would describe yourself. 32:29 And instantly, the atmosphere of the room changed. 32:33 And it got quiet. 32:34 And the first girl, the girl who had said mouthy, 32:37 the one who had just thought 32:38 other people would describe her as that. 32:40 And she was a happy girl, she talked a lot. 32:42 She was involved, she said, I am sad. 32:49 And the next girl, angry, depressed, lonely, afraid, 32:55 and the last one got me 32:56 more than the rest and they were all sad. 32:58 She said broken. 33:00 And we talked about the masks that we put on. 33:03 The masks that other people see 33:04 and then the masks that we put on the-- 33:07 we're trying to hide who we are inside. 33:09 But Jesus says, "He loves us." 33:13 He created in the beginning 33:15 and He wants to re-create in us His image. 33:19 We are daughters, sons of the King. 33:22 And so when I think of Sabbath, 33:23 I think of a day without-- we don't have to wear the mask. 33:26 That it's us and God. 33:29 We come into His presence with His word. 33:31 Fellowshipping with brothers and sisters 33:33 and worship, going to church, 33:35 fellowshipping with family, with friends, 33:38 we don't have to wear the mask. 33:39 And the time when God pours into our life 33:42 who we really are, who we are in Jesus. 33:45 I think He said, He created us in the beginning, 33:48 re-created, wants to re-create His character in us. 33:52 And the Sabbath is the symbol to me 33:54 of the re-creative power of God. 33:56 And the work He can do in our lives 33:58 and I think of 2 Corinthians 5: 17, 34:01 "If anyone is in Christ, he's a new creation. 34:04 All things are passed away. 34:05 Behold, all things have become new." 34:08 And so we don't know 34:09 if our friends at home if you are a Sabbath keepers 34:11 or where you are in your walk with God. 34:14 But I think that God wants us to come apart 34:16 and to find out who He is and who we are in Jesus. 34:19 And just be healed and reconciled 34:21 with each other's brothers and sisters. 34:23 Wow, amen, that's so true 34:24 because we don't know how broken we are 34:27 until we are asked to describe ourselves sometimes. 34:30 And you know, sometimes 34:31 the week could be really exciting, 34:34 you could be going through a heat wave, 34:36 you could be going through a frosty season in your life, 34:41 you could have just, 34:43 a baby could have been born in your family 34:44 the day before or, 34:45 you could have lost a loved one. 34:47 You never know and so those moments 34:48 are really important because all of us 34:50 as Jill described that everyone of us 34:52 has those up and down days, 34:53 those days when you experience God's deliverance 34:56 and those days when the sermon gets brighter and brighter, 34:59 those days when young people 35:00 are finally listening to the pastors message 35:03 and those days when we reminisce about, 35:05 you know, my, your mom, 35:07 you think about your mom and now you think, now our mom. 35:11 And Valera, your family is always, 35:12 my wife and I always admire you and Mike and Denielle 35:16 and Denai and Jonathan and Jason 35:20 and we say they all grown up 35:21 but they still do everything together. 35:23 Isn't that amazing? Yeah, as a family, yeah. 35:25 And I love that and we're a family, 35:27 a church family 'cause most of us, 35:30 we don't have our families with us, do we? 35:32 Our brothers, our sisters, so we are brothers and sisters 35:35 together in our church. 35:37 That's right. 35:39 It's true what you said, "take the mask off." 35:40 Be real. 35:42 I was thinking as Jill was talking about that, 35:43 "take the mask off." 35:45 I was talking to somebody this week 35:47 and they were saying, their son, 35:50 you know, had quit going to the church at one point 35:52 because when he went to church, he felt uncomfortable. 35:57 He was lonely there. 35:59 And I thought how sad, you know. 36:01 So we need to, you know, 36:03 we could say we take the mask off. 36:05 We can do that before God 36:06 but it's little bit harder sometimes 36:08 to do that with each other. 36:09 So I think as a church family, 36:11 we need to kind of keep our eyes open 36:14 to others that may, you know, they may, they have a mask. 36:18 They may look like they are fine 36:21 but maybe we need to spend a little time 36:23 and see what's underneath their mask, 36:24 what they are hiding behind that mask 36:28 and see, you know, if we can minister 36:30 in a way or something to them. 36:31 Because sometimes you could be in a crowd and be lonely. 36:33 I've heard people say that before. 36:35 Kind of takes us, we have a story 36:37 I want to walk with you all through. 36:39 If you have your Bibles, go to Matthew Chapter 12. 36:41 We talked about the Sabbath, the day of deliverance, 36:43 the day of family, a day of worship, 36:46 a day where we take the mask off. 36:48 But it's also a day of healing. 36:51 So often people misunderstand the Sabbath. 36:53 You know, when the Sabbath comes in some people say, 36:55 "Well, you know, the Jews did this 36:57 and Jesus did that and I even had 36:58 one person once said to me, "Even Jesus violated 37:02 the Sabbath," someone once said. 37:03 And I said, "Oh, if Jesus violated the Sabbath, 37:06 we're all in trouble." 37:07 But I think it came out of a misunderstanding 37:10 of what the Sabbath was. 37:11 Jill, you have, I could see having think-- 37:13 But in Matthew Chapter 12, there's a story. 37:16 We want to walk through together, 37:17 amplify certain points of it. 37:19 But it shows you that as Mark 2 verse 27 and 28 says, 37:23 "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath." 37:26 Long before they were families, I would say when Adam and Eve, 37:31 there were no aunts, no uncles, 37:32 no grand parents, no grand kids, 37:34 you know, no little boys and girls 37:35 running around the garden of Eden. 37:37 They were just two individuals. 37:38 And the Lord created a Hoy pair in a Holy time. 37:43 And what more, what better time 37:46 to focus on the Holy family in that Holy time 37:50 in the Holy relationship than in a day and age 37:53 where the family has been attacked, 37:56 where the Sabbath has practically been pushed out 37:58 and replaced with tradition. 38:00 What better time to go back to remembering 38:02 what the Lord did in the Garden of Eden. 38:04 Long before they were Jews, long before they were Gentiles, 38:07 just two perfect people. 38:09 He blessed the day and He blessed the family. 38:11 So this story shows 38:13 as the thousands of years continued to roll, 38:15 it got distorted and Jesus had to restore 38:17 to His own people how beautiful the Sabbath was. 38:20 So let's begin by, we'll go around the circle 38:22 and if you're comfortable-- 38:23 You guys are comfortable to read a verse here and there? 38:24 Okay, great. 38:26 We're gonna read versus as we go around 38:27 and we're gonna pause along the way 38:29 and make some points in the story. 38:31 It starts at Matthew Chapter 12:1. 38:33 It says, "At that time, Jesus went through 38:37 the grain fields on the Sabbath. 38:39 And His disciples were hungry 38:41 and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat." 38:45 And verse 2, honey. 38:47 "And when the Pharisees saw it, 38:49 they said to Him, 'Look your disciples are doing 38:53 what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.'" 38:56 Okay, now before we go Valera, it was amazing 38:58 how the disciples, the Jews had, 39:00 they had so burdened the Sabbath, 39:02 you see the Sabbath we know as a blessing. 39:04 A day of rest. 39:06 To them it was a day of regulations. 39:08 Yeah, rules. Dos and don'ts. 39:09 Days of rules. 39:11 But it was never intended by God to be that. 39:14 And if somebody is hungry 39:15 and we've all seen this application 39:17 because sometimes people are hungry. 39:19 Your sister is involved in a SDA elderly care 39:22 for elderly people. 39:25 If somebody is hungry, would you say to them, 39:27 "Well, I'd sure love to feed you 39:28 but it's a Sabbath." 39:30 No. 39:31 You know, that's not the God we serve. 39:33 So this legalistic thing was connected to the Sabbath. 39:35 But go to the third verse, Valera and look at this. 39:38 "But he said unto them, 39:40 'Have ye not read what David did, 39:42 when he was an hungred, and they that were with him.'" 39:46 Okay. And Jill, verse 4. 39:48 "How he entered the house of God, 39:50 and ate the shewbread, 39:51 which was not lawful for him to eat, 39:53 nor for those who were with him, 39:55 but only for the priests?" 39:57 Okay, and Denielle, you are into verse 5. 39:59 "Or have you not read in the law 40:01 that on the Sabbath days the priests in the temple 40:04 profane the Sabbath, and are blameless?" 40:07 Okay, Lori. 40:08 "Yet, I say unto you, that in this place 40:10 there is one greater than the temple." 40:12 Wow, that's huge. 40:14 Powerful. That was huge. 40:17 They were putting such emphasis on the temple, 40:20 the grain field, they even 40:22 But they weren't focusing on God. 40:23 Say that again. They weren't focusing on God. 40:24 They were not focusing on God. 40:26 Matter of fact, even worse than that, 40:29 here in their presence was Jesus, the Creator. 40:32 Yes. The Lord of heaven and earth. 40:33 And there are- over, 40:35 "Your disciples ate some wheat on the Sabbath. 40:39 It's not good." 40:40 And then said, "Don't you remember David, 40:43 how he went and ate the shewbread? 40:45 It wasn't right for him. He wasn't a priest. 40:47 But what was the point in the story. 40:48 What was being emphasized? 40:49 If you think about it, tell me what was being emphasized? 40:52 I think the next verse sums it up. 40:53 "The Son of man is Lord even of the Sabbath." 40:55 So to me it's showing Jesus is saying, 40:57 it's not about rules. Right. 40:59 It's about relationship. And that is the key difference. 41:03 'Cause we can keep the Sabbath 41:04 but we make it all about rules or we make it all about dos 41:07 and don'ts as you mentioned. 41:09 It's interesting to me if you look, 41:10 they went through the grain fields 41:12 and they plucked the grain. 41:13 I used to think the disciples were stealing. 41:18 Like you're not supposed to do that. 41:20 But if you read in Deuteronomy 23, 41:23 it actually was lawful for them to do that. 41:25 Not to cut it with a sickle and take from their neighbor 41:28 but they could, you know, rub the grains with their hands 41:31 and they could eat if they were hungry. 41:32 That was in the Bible, in their, you know, the laws. 41:34 They could do that. 41:36 But the issue, the Pharisees had, 41:37 of course, was the dos 41:39 and don'ts relating to the Sabbath. 41:40 Right, and they were not taking their John Deere 41:41 and plowing the fields and harvesting. 41:44 There's a difference. 41:45 The issue that was being brought up 41:47 was the needs of individuals. 41:50 David was hungry. 41:51 "Where could we get some bread, it's a Sabbath?" 41:53 "Go to the temple, there's some shewbread there." 41:55 The Lord wouldn't say, you know David, 41:57 you need to starve, it's a Sabbath. 42:00 If the sun goes down in time if you'd eat, you'd be okay. 42:04 But starve as long as the Sabbath-- 42:06 And there is some people I want to make this point, 42:08 there's some people that have made the Sabbath 42:09 so many dos and don'ts. 42:11 Somebody once said, 42:13 if the Sabbath becomes a delight 42:15 as the Lord intends if it were to be, 42:17 then more people will look at the Sabbath 42:19 as a day of freedom, rejoicing and blessings. 42:21 But here the Pharisees, "religious people" 42:25 put burdens on it that Jesus never puts. 42:27 So He was kind of re-teaching them. 42:28 What was the next verse that we go to? 42:29 Verse number 9, is that my turn. 42:31 No, verse 7. Verse number 7? 42:33 Okay, here it is. 42:36 But I think that, well, I'll go to verse 7. 42:39 "But if ye had known 42:42 what this means I desire," here's the lesson, 42:44 "I desire mercy, and not sacrifice, 42:48 ye would not have condemned the guiltless." 42:51 That's funny, how do you condemns him by 42:53 if he's not even guilty of anything? 42:54 You're condemning people that haven't even done anything. 42:57 See, go to the next verse, honey. 42:58 Before that it says in the Desire of Ages, 43:01 it says, "Christ reiterated the truth 43:05 that the sacrifices were in themselves of no value." 43:08 That's right. 43:10 "They were a means and not an end. 43:12 Their object was to direct men to the Savior 43:16 and thus to bring them in harmony with God." 43:19 Wow. 43:20 So and it ends here, "So with the Sabbath," 43:23 so with the Sabbath and it says, 43:25 "it was designed to bring men into communion with God. 43:30 But when the mind was absorbed with wearisome rights, 43:34 the object of the Sabbath was thwarted, 43:38 its mere outward observant was a mockery." 43:42 Wow, so it was saying that 43:44 you could actually observe the day 43:46 but have no connection with the Lord. 43:48 Which doesn't say, not observe the day 43:51 but said, if you're gonna do that, 43:52 remember, "Hey, hey, guys, I'm right here, 43:55 one greater than the laws in your midst." 43:58 He said, "I'm right here." 43:59 And you're missing the whole blessing 44:01 because you're missing who I Am. 44:03 When I think about the Sabbath, 44:04 I think God is just calling to us 44:06 and He says, "I love you, 44:08 I want to spend the whole day with you." 44:10 Now He wants to spend everyday with us 44:12 but in a special way. 44:13 He says His hours are sanctified. 44:15 They are set apart. They are Holy. 44:16 I just want to commune with you, 44:18 I want you to draw in my presence 44:19 and when I read this, when I think about that, 44:22 I think I am here in my observance of the Sabbath 44:26 and what I gain from it but I want to grow. 44:29 I want to learn so much more of Jesus 44:32 and grow into His presence every Sabbath. 44:34 That's right. Valera, any thoughts on that? 44:37 Well, I was just thinking, 44:38 you know, "Turn your eyes upon Jesus," 44:40 you know, that song kind of popped in my head 44:42 and you know, if we're focusing on Jesus, 44:45 the rules and regulations 44:47 are gonna take care of themselves. 44:48 I mean, if you're focusing on Him, 44:51 He's gonna lead you into what, 44:53 you know, if you're spending your time with Him, 44:56 you're not gonna worry about what you're doing 44:58 and not because you are spending time with Him. 45:00 And so the rules just kind of take care of themselves. 45:02 But if you focus on the rules. That's right. 45:04 you don't have time to look at Jesus. 45:06 You are focusing down here and then, "What am I doing? 45:08 What am I doing? What am I supposed to do? 45:10 What am I not supposed to do?" 45:11 And-- They are just gone. 45:13 They'll never have time to think about God. 45:14 Any point you want to like to give, 45:16 young ladies, about the Sabbath, 45:17 what you are learning here? 45:19 You could-- 45:20 It's more special than the Jews are making it seem. 45:21 That's right. 45:23 They were making it seem like it was, 45:25 like it was like a rule day. 45:27 Like they had to do this and they couldn't do that. 45:29 No, God is like, no, I just want you 45:30 to follow me to worship me 45:34 but to let me hold a special place heart. 45:38 That's right. Just spend time with me. 45:40 Don't, like worry about the rest 45:42 or what the world is doing. 45:43 That's right, that's right. Just follow Him. 45:45 That's right. 45:47 And you know, when I was growing up, 45:49 you know, you just, 45:50 we did things for rules and regulations. 45:52 We didn't know Jesus. 45:54 And I could wait till the Sabbath ends on Saturday. 45:59 Friday was like, "Oh." 46:02 Yes, I looked forward to Sabbath. 46:03 It was time of rest. 46:05 But as I got to be a teenager, 46:07 oh, yeah, in New York City too, Saturday-- 46:10 Yeah, the world just crowded itself. 46:12 Oh, it's tough when you are in the city. 46:15 And what happened to me is like, 46:19 oh, yeah, Sabbath is ended. 46:21 Oh, I could go hang out with my friends. 46:23 And I didn't know Jesus. 46:25 Later on I got to know Jesus and then I was looking. 46:30 I looked forward to the Sabbath. 46:31 I didn't want the Sabbath to end on Saturday. 46:35 So it became a joy with me in Jesus on Sabbath. 46:40 That it became a relationship connection. 46:41 A relationship, yes. 46:43 Like for those, and now I'm gonna put this 46:44 in context here, for those who are married 46:46 and have a good marriage, 46:48 they don't dread their anniversary, you know. 46:51 The best time of the year. Yes, amen. 46:53 Or dread spending time with their spouse, 46:55 oh, dear, the kids are gone, 46:57 I gotta to spend time with my husband." 46:58 Exactly. "What do we do now? 47:00 The kids are off to college." 47:02 Yes. 47:03 And it's like, "Great they are gone, 47:04 we could spend time together." 47:06 You see, all of us have a good marriage 47:07 so we could all-- 47:08 We could all share that. Exactly. 47:10 And I just want to add this. 47:11 A lot of times, one of the reasons 47:13 why the Sabbath is a special day 47:14 is because, you know, 47:15 if you see the Sabbath as everyday, 47:17 then you will never work. 47:19 Some people say, "Well, it could be any day." 47:20 Well, it's not any day and it's not everyday. 47:22 It's just the seventh. 47:23 And so the Lord says, shut everything down, 47:26 not that those things are bad and are not themselves, 47:28 but He said, this is my special time. 47:30 And so it's like the guys call me say, 47:31 "Hey, I know it's your anniversary. 47:34 Would you want to go play some basketball?" 47:35 I say, "There is no way I want to play basketball. 47:37 It's my anniversary." 47:39 And Valera has heard me say this 47:40 is a school board treasure, remember? 47:42 What do I would say about graduation? 47:44 Graduation was always on anniversary week 47:47 and we guys just got married the wrong time of the year. 47:49 Yeah, I know that. 47:50 He said I won't be there, right, I won't be there. 47:54 We would do that but if it fell on like the day 47:57 and I say, okay and sometimes 47:59 we did out of love for our school we were there. 48:03 We actually did. 48:04 But sometimes I say, "Okay, guys, I'm giving you a year. 48:07 Do not plan." Yeah. 48:09 'Cause it was like maybe the 20th anniversary 48:11 or something special like that. 48:12 So those numbers, 20 or 25 or 30, those are special. 48:15 It's not on the special year. Everything in between is fine. 48:18 Everything in between we gave it to school 48:20 or the days that were in between. 48:21 But let's finish up the story here. 48:23 It says, and what verse are we at now. 48:24 Verse-- Verse 9. 48:26 I think it's your time, hon. 48:28 Now when he had heard-- 48:30 No, "Now when He had departed from there, 48:33 He went into their synagogue." 48:37 Verse 10. 48:38 "And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. 48:41 And they asked him, saying, 48:43 'Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath days?' 48:46 That they might accuse him." 48:48 This last-- 48:50 "Then He said to them, 'What man is there among you 48:52 who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit 48:55 on the Sabbath day, will he not lay hold of it, 48:57 and lift it out?'" 48:58 Okay, Denielle. 49:00 "Of how much more value then is it in man than a sheep? 49:05 Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath." 49:08 And Lori. 49:10 "Then He said to the man, 'Stretch out your hand.' 49:12 And he stretched it out and it was restored 49:14 as whole as the other." 49:16 Wow, so the Sabbath is not only a day of worship 49:18 and family and rest from labor but it's a day of restoration. 49:24 It's a day where good things can be done, 49:26 not that we can't do good on the other day. 49:28 But they had so many restrictions. 49:30 They said, it became a day of, 49:31 as I think Lori said, dos and don'ts. 49:34 It became a day of rules and regulations 49:37 and it was not a day of relationship. 49:38 And so there are those of you 49:40 that maybe never had family worship before. 49:43 They are those of you that may have family worship 49:45 as a tradition like it was the case 49:46 in your family and of mine. 49:48 But if it's a tradition, we want you to recapture 49:50 your connection with Christ, not just the tradition. 49:53 'Cause traditions can make us forget 49:55 what the real importance of or the Man of the Sabbath, 49:58 the Lord of the Sabbath, 49:59 the one who wants to have a relationship with us. 50:01 But if there are that have not have family worship, 50:04 this might be a good time to ignite that. 50:06 I like the way-- we have a candle. 50:07 My wife does that. 50:09 She lights candles around the house 50:10 as a sweet smelling savor. 50:12 Yeah, I love doing that. 50:13 Yeah, as you said, the sweet smelling savor 50:14 and to welcome the Sabbath 50:16 and our Sabbath candle I call it. 50:18 And that-- do you remember 50:19 the flavor of the candle you had? 50:21 Um, sometimes it was a vanilaish 50:24 'cause I like vanilla ice cream. 50:25 Okay. You know, it was like that. 50:27 Sometimes it was ginger snaps 50:29 or something like that, well, it smelled good. 50:31 Ginger snaps. Doesn't-- 50:33 I'm not sure if I'm getting this right 50:34 but doesn't restoration mean restore? 50:36 Exactly. That's what I was thinking. 50:38 Yes, so it's a time of restoring the family, 50:41 restoring everything that the week 50:42 has kind of chiseled away. 50:44 It charges up your battery 50:46 so you can go through another week 50:47 so that you can spend more time with God and recharge it. 50:50 You know, I'm gonna get you to do a sermon 50:51 because you are really good at this. 50:53 No, no, no, no, no. 50:54 You're not ready for that yet. See, it is coming out. 50:56 It's coming between you and Denielle, 50:58 I'm sure we could. 50:59 So there's some of you-- Give it to Denielle. 51:01 There's some of you that has given us some letters. 51:03 I want to share this around. 51:05 Kind of take one, honey and pass one Valera 51:06 and then one to Jill and then we're gonna 51:09 read these letters really quickly. 51:10 And then we're gonna have prayer 51:12 and I'm gonna ask Denielle and also Lori to pray 51:15 for some of these names on the list 51:16 but, friends, I tell you something else 51:19 we do too on the Sabbath. 51:21 When we are done our devotional, 51:23 I say to Angie, any special request. 51:25 And we start going down the list. 51:26 Did you ever think about that, Jill? 51:28 You kind of go down the list and you think of people 51:30 that are there, people that are not there. 51:34 And there is no rush because you don't have 51:35 to rush back to work. 51:37 You don't have to rush to anything. 51:39 It's the time where you slow down. 51:40 So let's kind of go through these quickly 51:42 and what do you have, honey? 51:44 Okay. 51:46 It says, "Dear 3ABN, Very good day 51:50 for all your company. 51:51 My name is Igor." IGOR. 51:54 Okay, yeah. 51:55 "And I'm from Russia. 51:57 Recently I have ability 51:59 to watch your programs through internet. 52:03 I do that with greatest pleasure. 52:05 I have been interested in the English language 52:08 for a long time now. 52:10 To watch English-speaking programs 52:12 on our local Russian television is impossible." 52:16 Wow. 52:17 "Your programs are terrifically finest 52:21 and because I am interested in the Bible, 52:24 I watch your programs non-stop. 52:27 I wish all your company to prosper. 52:30 God bless you, Smirnoff." 52:32 Igor Smirnoff. Wow. 52:35 Okay, who do you have, Valera? 52:36 Okay, this is from Robert. 52:38 And it says, "Dear 3ABN, 52:40 Wow, the Holy Spirit was working 52:42 on your Sabbath school presentation this morning. 52:45 I am so blessed to see the panel discussion 52:47 and their overwhelming Spirit of God 52:49 working through the presenters. 52:51 Thank you, for your presentation and format. 52:54 If our church could grasp the fundamentals 52:57 that you all were inspired to present this morning, 53:00 we will end the work soon and Jesus will come quickly. 53:04 You are in my prayers 53:05 and I ask you to keep me in yours. 53:08 Wow, okay. Thank you." 53:09 And Jill, who do you have? 53:11 This is from Andrew and it's an e-mail. 53:13 "Dear 3ABN, Thank you for keeping on, 53:16 keeping on with Jesus. 53:17 I'm encouraged by your networks 53:19 because they are full of God's ways 53:21 and His health advice. 53:23 Plus Danny Shelton is always willing 53:25 to give glory to God 53:26 for all the great things he has done. 53:29 Thanks again for your faithfulness." 53:31 Wow. 53:32 And I'm gonna let those three letters savor 53:35 in the minds of our viewers and listeners 53:37 and I want to share some prayer requests. 53:39 So we could surely have the best of our time here. 53:43 It says Shauna in Texas is going through chemo 53:47 and is in need of prayer. 53:48 Shauna, we're gonna pray for you. 53:49 We know the Lord is with you. 53:51 Be encouraged and we pray that 53:53 you could sense God's presence there. 53:55 Robert needs strength from God. 53:57 He's facing spiritual warfare. Wow. 54:00 That's very real. The battle is very real. 54:03 Delia has a 15 year-old daughter 54:06 that was just released from drug rehab 54:09 but has been drawn into prostitution. 54:13 She also has a 14 year old son 54:15 that is suffering from Lupus. 54:17 She is a word working-- hard working single mom, 54:23 doing her best that she can for her family. 54:26 But needs strength, perseverance 54:29 and some encouragement from prayer. 54:32 Well, we have to real remember Delia in our prayers. 54:34 Michael and Eleanor is need of a heart transplant. 54:38 He is combating many heart illnesses. 54:40 And finally, pray that God's protection 54:45 and favor for my elderly mother 54:47 who would be traveling throughout this month. 54:50 And that's from Reese. 54:51 And I tell you, we would surely 54:53 want to remember all those in prayer 54:54 and remember them to bring them before the Lord. 54:57 Honey, we have 2 minutes and 26 seconds. 55:00 I always like to pray. 55:01 But could I ask you to pray, 55:03 just kind of remember those names 55:04 that we've mentioned here. 55:06 And for those of you that are at home, 55:07 you could bow your heads with us. 55:08 We're gonna spend about a minute 55:10 or so in prayer and ask the Lord 55:12 to hear these prayer requests that are very important. 55:14 Okay, let's bow our heads. 55:16 Our kind Father in heaven, 55:17 we bow before Your presence today. 55:20 And we just thank You and praise You 55:22 and honor You and glorify You. 55:24 You are worthy to be praised. 55:26 Father, you heard the prayer request 55:28 that was lifted up before You. 55:31 We pray Father for Shauna in Texas 55:34 who is going through chemo. 55:37 We pray Lord that Your hand 55:38 would be upon Shauna in a special way, 55:42 that you give guidance to the physicians 55:44 and the care givers 55:46 and whoever is assisting Shauna. 55:49 I pray for healing and for guidance upon her. 55:53 Be with her family also. 55:54 And Lord we also remember Robert. 55:57 He needs strength from You. 55:59 We pray that You always help Him 56:01 through this spiritual warfare that he is going through. 56:05 Send the angels that excel in strength to guard him, 56:08 to protect him, to see him through this. 56:11 And also Delia who has a 15 year-old daughter, 56:15 has been released from the drug rehab. 56:17 Father we also pray for that family in a special way. 56:21 I pray that You'll send your Holy Spirit into that home 56:25 that the evil influence will be wiped away 56:28 and I thank you, Father for hearing 56:31 and answering prayer 56:33 and Lord, we pray for all the other prayer requests, 56:36 Michael and also from Reese, 56:38 And we thank you for hearing and answering in Jesus' name. 56:42 Amen. Amen. 56:44 Thank you, honey, thank you, Valera, 56:45 thank you, Jill, thank you, Lori, 56:48 thank you, Denielle and most of all 56:50 thank all of you that have tuned in today 56:52 to enjoy Family Worship with us. 56:56 We have taken time to be Holy and we were gonna sing a song 56:59 of "Jesus in the family, happy, happy home." 57:01 Friends, we know that if you allow 57:03 Jesus to be in your family, through family worship, 57:05 how happy your home would be. 57:07 We are praying for the Moms and the Dads, 57:09 for the boys and the girls for all those 57:11 who draw closer to Jesus in this special time 57:14 and then we could look forward to eternity 57:16 when the Sabbath would be not just the single day 57:18 but a blessing throughout eternity. 57:20 God bless you until we see you again. |
Revised 2015-10-08